


Plus Three to Insight

by SilverServerError



Series: Elf Practice [8]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Platonic Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 09:31:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12861693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverServerError/pseuds/SilverServerError
Summary: Sometimes it’s hard to have awkward conversations with your friends. Lucky for Magnus, he has Taako, who does not give a shit.





	Plus Three to Insight

 

Water lapped against his shoulders as Taako breathed the warm, wet, eucalyptus air deeply, sighing out and feeling every muscle in his body relax a little further. There was serene, peaceful music and the gentle sound of birds and frogs in the distance. The only lights were the candles lit all around giving the room a soft glow.

Taako reached out, and with the lazy stir of a finger, the glass of water he’d brought in with him chilled to a refreshing ice cold. Transmuted hints of cucumber, lemon, and ginger.

He groaned again, setting the drink to the side and raising his feet to cross ankles on the edge of the tub, legs covered with suds and bubbles.

Perfect.

Absolutely-

His ear twitched, catching on some faint-

“Taako?” The voice carried distorted but familiar. Maybe if he just stayed quiet, Magnus would go away.

Then all at once it was like an earthquake hit the room, water splashing in the tub and candles falling from their artful if precarious perches. Taako shrieked and clapped, turning on the harsher, built in lighting, squinting as his eyes adjusted.

“Taako, are you in there? Can I talk to you?”

There was a second shift and everything jerked and splashed.

“Careful!” Takko barked, yelling to be heard through the dimensional transition. “What is the most important rule, Magnus?”

“Oh crap… Sorry!” There was a third and final splash, as Magnus carefully put the pocket spa back on the table. “I forget from the outside.”

Taako blinked, his eyes finally adjusted, and he surveyed the mess with a little frown. At least nothing was on fire.

“Can I still come in?” A sheepish voice asked, muffled and coming from every direction.

Taako sat up in the tub, crossing his arms and frowning. “Ah, sorry Mags. Just, super horny in here right now. You know how it is. Don’t come in.”

“Taako, please? It’s important.”

He sighed, ears flicking in annoyance. “Did you rinse off first?”

“Of course!”

Taako rolled his eyes, then with a wave of his hand, disappeared the mess and candles. “Yeah, alright.”

 

* * *

 

 

They sat together in the matching fluffy, white robes the spa had come with. Taako’s hair was twisted up in a towel as he let the oil soak in. He half listened, nodding and agreeing in the right spots as Magnus carefully painted each of Taako’s nails in a flattering gold. His skill was meticulous for a fighter, but maybe that shouldn’t have come as such a surprise given the carpentry.

“...So it’s awkward, right? But I guess, am I good?”

“You weren’t interested in her in the first place, right?”

“No.”

“So what’s the problem?”

Magnus finished his pinky and Taako switched hands to inspected his work.

No one else was allowed to help Taako with his appearance. He’d rather cast Mislead any day if something he wanted to do required an extra set of hands. But this was different. Magnus was like, weirdly good at it. And maybe he didn’t completely one hundred percent hate the idea of being pampered. It just mattered who was doing the pampering.

Plus, Magnus was slowly but surely getting over his tendency to file his nails too blunt like a human. So, not bad all things considered.

“I don’t know. I guess… I mean, she’s important to me. What if things are weird now?”

“Hey remember when the first thing Killian did was try to kill us?”

“That’s not how-“

“Yeah, but basically right?”

Magnus looked a little uncomfortable, then shrugged before going back to painting. “Okay. I guess that’s fair.”

“If we can get over that, Fangbattle can get over a botched confession.”

“It wasn’t a confession though!”

Taako sighed and pressed on. “Look, Magnus. Sometimes…” Taako frowned, ears flicking down as he searched for the words. “Sometimes… your enthusiasm… can be a little… intense. Particularly this earnest admiration thing you do. It’s easy to misinterpret.”

Magnus looked up from his work, stricken, two unpainted fingernails left and cradled in careful hands.

“But I love my friends.”

“For sure-“

“I’m not going to stop just because people think it’s unmanly or some shit.” Magnus frowned, going back to Taako’s ring finger and carefully getting a smooth coat of gold.

“And like, props about it. Love that whole vibe. But you did publicly ask me out like, three times this week.”

Magnus’s head shot up, and for the first time in months, he got paint on Taako’s skin. Taako watched it with a little frown.

“What are you talking about?”

Taako took his hand back, ears neutral as he started counting on freshly painted fingers. “The thing about ice cream. Asking me to visit the beach. The dog park fiasco.”

“But those weren’t-“ Magnus's brow furrowed in sudden panic. “Taako, I don’t-“

“Yeah, shut up. I know. And you know. That’s like, the only reason you’re allowed in here in the first place. But to people that don’t know you as well or have any context?” He shrugged, wincing a little to try and soften the blow.

He offered his final unpainted finger like a consolation, and Magnus took it, troubled thoughts written across his expression as he went back for the polish one last time.

“It feels weird to not…” He took a deep breath. “When people are important to me, I want to let them know. If I admire them or look up to them… If I enjoy our time together… If I love them, I want to say it.”

Taako watched him a little sadly, ears drooping.

“You never know when-“ he finished with the nail, but kept Taako’s hand in his, staring hard at the connection. “You never know.”

Taako sighed, feeling helpless.

“I think some people just aren’t used to hearing it.” He covered Magnus’s hands with his free one, giving an encouraging squeeze. “It can be scary as Hell, my dude.”

“I love you, Taako,” Magnus said earnestly, looking him in the eye.

Taako just smiled, seeing the declaration coming from a mile away and feeling all the more fond for it. He smiled back, warm but slightly embarrassed. “I know you do, Mags.”


End file.
